Pre-Brexit rules allowed Premier League clubs to rob Barcelona's academy for players like Cesc Fabregas, who joined Arsenal in 2003 year. Photo: Getty Images/Mike Hewitt.
The European football club comes at the end of long negotiations between the clubs and the FA after Brexit, which maintain the balance of power — the approval of the governing body (GBE) — as a power imposed by the House. Office for the development of a system of work permits. FA chief executive Mark Bullingham has made it his goal to protect the EQP's place in the system — and rightly so. The first post-Brexit GBE system has been revised, resulting in the announcement of the agreement last week.
Since Brexit, the GBE has been granted permission to operate by foreign players through a system in which they accumulate points for minutes played in national leagues and national teams – the more points available, the higher the league and team level. The requirement is 15 people and those who do not qualify can ask their future club to appeal to the eliminations board. But the system's fickle nature meant that few clubs could risk investing in finding and signing a player if they weren't sure his appeal would go through.
The original GBE system presented problems. Players who met the 15-point criterion inevitably received a price that was out of reach for all Championship teams and many Premier League teams.
In particular, for championship clubs, this almost ruled out signing contracts with foreign minor leagues. In 2014, Leicester City were then a Championship club and signed Riyad Mahrez from then-French Ligue 2 club Le Havre for £450,000. Under current rules, this would be impossible. Mahrez would not have scored 15 GBE points. Now a 2023 talent like Mahrez could be signed as an ESC by a championship club.
Leicester City signed Riyadh Mahrez in 2014. for £450,000, which would not have been possible under current rules. Photo: AMA/Getty Images/James Williamson
For big clubs, the requirements for the player they were looking for were usually so high that he almost certainly met the criteria. The ESC option gives them the opportunity to sign cheap talent who, in a few years, with experience in European leagues, could be worth tens of millions more.
This is a big savings. Of the £1.9bn that Premier League clubs spent last summer, £1.19bn was spent on players from European leagues. Many of them were non-EU nationals, signed by clubs from European countries with a much more relaxed work permit system, designed and then sold at an incredible profit to the Premier League.
Last summer, the highest Premier League spending from a single EU nation was £207m in France. In French football, all players from the EU receive a work permit. Clubs are allowed a quota of four non-EU players and a waiver for any players from a French-speaking African country. In Germany, which received £196m from Premier League clubs last summer, any player aged 18 or over who receives a Bundesliga contract offer receives a work permit.
Darwin Nunez, for example, joined Spanish club Almería from his native Uruguay at the age of 20 for around £4 million. He left Benfica last summer, becoming Liverpool's record £85m player. At the same age, Brazilian Anthony moved from Sao Paulo to Ajax in a deal worth around £18m. He joined Manchester United last summer for £86m.
2022 Premier League summer spending
In the future, Liverpool and United will be able to directly sign some – if not all – of these South Americans. Third ESC will be available if the percentage of total minutes for EQP players is 30 or higher, and fourth if it reaches 35 percent. The rest of the non-UK signers will still be required to meet the 15-point GBE threshold.
The original plan to stop hoarding was that if a player under the age of 21 was signed as an ESC, they would have to place in Premier League squad of 25 people. This was left out of the final agreement and poses a risk that clubs will simply accumulate talent.
The FA hopes that by stimulating the development of EQPs — the players who will make up England's future teams — it will balance the influx of talent from around the world. This is yet to be seen. The argument of some clubs is that in order to give their academy players a chance, they need talented senior players who don't charge extra for coming through Europe.
For the richest, the search has already begun. The owners of Manchester City Abu Dhabi recently added Brazilian club EC Bahia to their City football group. EC Bahia, by far the largest of the 13 CFG clubs after City, will offer City's recruiting team an insight into the Brazilian game that few people enjoy.
The biggest player-representing agencies are investing in their networks in South America. This is already a crowded field. Endrik, a 16-year-old prodigy, has already signed a contract to join Real Madrid from Palmeiras next year.
Endrik, a 16-year-old football player who has signed a contract with Real Madrid. Credit: Getty Images/Alexandre Schneider
The FA has struck a bold deal with the Premier League. It has been a golden age for English footballers who need to be encouraged to flourish in this richest and most competitive football league in the world. Losers? Of course, it will be more difficult for European clubs, which have traditionally traded players from South America and Africa and sold them to English clubs. They may have complained about the Premier League's financial advantage over the years, but they have also benefited from its generous transfer fees.
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